


The Sewers

by PuddingTown



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Men can't write something that long without throwing in some garbage so I fixed it., So not an orgy, This is That Scene but what it should've been., and coming full circle with their own personal story arcs., and these kids actually relying on their friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-06-03 12:28:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19463995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PuddingTown/pseuds/PuddingTown





	The Sewers

Something akin to guilt suddenly overwhelmed Beverly. She could hear the girls giggling - nervously now, as she remembered - in the bathrooms, discussing It; “would you do It?”; “have you touched It?” Those girls were afraid of themselves, guilted into the fear by their fathers and the fathers before them. Just as she had been.

It was a fear no one could touch. She heard the terror in her own dad - in every, “Bevvie, don’t do It,” and as she looked to Eddie, she could see he heard it too. He heard It in his mother’s voice for all the times he questioned the illness that took his father. “We don’t talk about It,” and she would call him Eddiebear to comfort him, but he didn’t need assurance as much as she did. Richie squeezed his hand because he heard It too, whenever Maggie lamented to Wentworth, “I just don’t understand It.” Did she mean Richie’s interests? Or just Richie?

“What are you afraid of?” Stan questioned. He stared intently at each of his friends, demanding more so than asking. He held his hands out to Mike and Ben, and they extended theirs to Bill and Beverly, and so on to Eddie and Richie, completing the circle. “I’m afraid of you. All of you.” Although Stan didn’t elaborate, he didn’t need to. A chill ran down his spine at the admission. His eyes were filled with love, but also anxiety - a word none of these children understood yet.

“I’m afraid of It taking my mama, and daddy,” Mike said, breaking the silence that quickly followed. Stan squeezed his hand reassuringly. Suddenly, the others felt the same fear. Richie could imagine It reaching out of his mother’s morning coffee to claw her face. Bill saw It keeping his parents apart. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to save them.” The ground rumbled beneath the losers, but they didn’t stop.

“Being alone- I’m afraid of how- how empty it all feels, even when you guys are around!” Ben blurted, struggling to find the words. Beverly ran her thumb over the back of his hand, abruptly drowning in the loneliness he tried to describe.

Bill hesitated, nearly letting go of his friends. Mike and Richie gripped him tighter, and for a split second, he swore he heard Georgie calling to him. Refusing to look over his shoulder, knowing they had to have weakened It enough to kill it, he held on firmly.

“I’m afraid I’m the reason my parents can’t look at each other. I’m afraid they blame me, and they hate me for leading Georgie out that day. They don’t see It; they only see me. Maybe to them, _I’m_ It,” he said, his voice breaking near the end. Richie froze, the fear settling in his stomach. Bill didn’t stutter once. He noticed that first. Richie then noticed how deeply and intimately he was already familiar with his fear. Tilting his head to meet Bill’s gaze, he nodded.

“I’m afraid of being It. Sometimes I don’t know- I can’t just say what I want to say. I can’t do what I wanna do without losing all of you. Don’t let go of my hands, please,” Richie pleaded. He wasn’t the best with his words when it wasn’t blurting something stupid for a laugh. Nobody had to take him seriously then. He didn’t have to feel so exposed. Eddie and Beverly didn’t let go. Beverly shook her head as if to say, _I wouldn’t dream of it, Richie, my love_.

“I’m afraid of my mother. I saw It, when I was in the hospital. I begged for It not to turn into her, but It did. It’s always been her, and I’ve been living with It, and I’m afraid that’s why I can’t breathe half the time,” he gasped. He wanted to reach for his phony asthma medicine, but he resisted. “I love her, but I’m afraid.” Tears slid down his cheeks, and Beverly choked out a sob, clutching his hand as tightly as she could.

“Me too, Eddie,” she whispered. Clearing her throat, she looked to the rest of her friends. Her family, as far as she was concerned. “I love my daddy, but I _hate him_. I’m not afraid anymore; I just hate him. Maybe I’m afraid of how much.” Tears were spilling from her eyes now.

The losers were nervous of letting go, but they released each other’s hands all at once, opting instead to embrace. Eddie wrapped his arms around Beverly, followed immediately by Ben, then Richie, then Mike, Stan, and Bill. They didn’t know how long they held each other, but it was long enough for the fog around them to fade. Suddenly, the sewers were clear again.

When they broke apart, Eddie looked around, huffing.

“I took us down a wrong turn. Got all frigged up back there,” he mumbled.

“Been frigged up your whole life, Eds,” Richie teased, wiping his eyes as he laughed. Eddie’s mouth twisted, but ultimately, he smiled.

“Beep beep, Richie,” he said, taking the first steps to guiding his beloved friends from the sewers.


End file.
